SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION
At Arco Arena, Sacramento
Girls
Division III
St. Mary's (Stockton) 75, Sacramento 45
The nation’s No. 1 team didn’t play nearly its best, coaches and players said, but don’t tell that to a very good Sacramento team (25-6) that was run off the floor for the second straight time this season.
McDonald's All-American Chelsea Gray.
File photo by David Steutel
This time it was for a SJS title, the Rams' 11th, tying them with Ripon Christian for most in section history.
Though the Rams (30-1) are well-known because they boast two McDonald’s All-Americans, Duke-bound Chelsea Gray and Cal-bound Afure Jemerigbe, they showed all their moving parts.
Three-point specialist Alle Moreno made 4-of-5 from beyond the arc as scored 18 points, Jemerigbe had 15 points and eight rebounds and Gray overcame a poor shooting game with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Brittany Shine, a 5-foot-10 senior, led Sacramento with 16 points and Kyra Dunn, a 6-3 post, added nine points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
Ali Gibson and Annissa Garcia had 10 points each for St. Mary’s, which forced 24 turnovers but committed only nine with point guard Gray doing most of the ball-handling.
“I’d give it a 7 (out of 10),” Jemerigbe said. “We can play better but I’m not complaining. We’re playing every game like it could be our last.”
Division V
Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) 67, Turlock Christian 25
Ashlee Jones, a 5-9 freshman, had 20 points and eight rebounds, Fernandi Espinosa added 11 points and Jordie Smith 10 as Bradshaw Christian (22-8) won its third straight section crown. The school has been in existence just six years.
Bradshaw went on a 22-3 run in the second quarter and were never threaten. The Pride forced 28 turnovers and just 17 percent shooting for Turlock Christian (25-8), which got nine points from Molly Farrar.
Boys
Division III
Sacramento 65, Vista del Lago (Folsom) 55
In a fantastic showdown between the perennial power (Sacramento) and newcomer, the Dragons (24-6) won their fifth section crown thanks to 23 points from super 6-3 junior guard Josiah Turner and 22 points and 11 rebounds by Will Davis, a high-flying 6-9 forward.
Sacramento outscored Vista Del Lago (28-3), a second-year program, 31-10 at the free throw line and made nine of 10 in the final 1:37 to win going away.
"We haven't been a good free-throw shooting team all year, but we came through tonight," Sacramento coach Derek Swafford, whose team won its fourth SJS title in its sixth straight finals appearance. "It wasn't our best game, but it was solid. We still have a lot of room for improvement."
Vista Del Lago, a superbly-coached squad, just couldn't get over the hump as hard as it tried. They missed numerous inside shots, but that might have had to do with the big front line of Davis and 6-11 Robert Garrett.
Leading scorer Hayden Lescault, a 6-4 senior who had scored 73 points in three previous playoff games, led the Eagles with 17 points but he made just 6 of 17 shots. Vista Del Lago made just 22 of 64 from the floor (34 percent) and Sacramento wasn't much better (17 of 48).
But the Dragons made 31 of 40 from the foul line, including 12-for-16 in the fourth quarter.
Marques White added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles, while Travon Abraham, a 5-9 guard, added 13 points for the Dragons, who held a 45-36 rebound edge.
Division V
Victory Christian (Carmichael) 68, Ripon Christian 64 (OT)
Nathan Coppernoll had 21 points and Brad Hoffelt and Johnny Coburn scored 12 apiece leading Victory Christian (27-3) to its second SJS title.
Logan Vos had 20 points, Steve Vander 17, Tyler Goslinga 15 and Daniel Van 12 for Ripon Christian (22-7), which used a 19-14 run in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Victory Christian shot 26 of 52 from the field but Ripon stayed close by making 10 of 21 3-pointers, including 6 of 10 by Vos.
CENTRAL COAST SECTION
At Leavey Center, Santa Clara University
Boys
Division II
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 56, St. Francis (Mountain View) 50
St. Francis was the first West Catholic Athletic League team to ever win 17 straight games in league play, but the top-seeded Lancers (27-3) couldn't beat Mitty (20-9) for a fourth straight time.
Riding the efforts of senior Stephen Meade (18 points) and freshman Aaron Gordon (15 points, 16 rebounds), the Monarchs stunned the Lancers and ended their 19-game win streak.
Mitty took an 11-10 lead midway through the second quarter and never trailed again while taking its sixth CCS championship.
Fresno State-bound Tyler led St. Francis with 14 points and Spencer Britshgi added 10.
Division IV
Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) 54, Palma (Salinas) 45
Reed McConnell had 24 points, Ty Cobb 12 points and 14 rebounds and Will McConnell 10 points as Sacred Heart Prep (22-5), the second-seed, upset top-seed Palma (23-4).
Chris Benavente had 15 points and four assists and Allen Noah and Duke Austin added 11 points apiece for Palma, which could never make up for a 14-7 deficit in the first quarter.
Girls
Division II
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 53, Presentation (San Jose) 37
Sue Phillips won her 504th game the way she likes to best – with contributions all around.
Ashley Watson had 14 points and five rebounds, Oregon State-bound Classye James added 10 points and seven rebounds and Courtney Wilson added eight points and eight rebounds as the Monarchs (24-5) led 27-14 at halftime and cruised to their 22nd CCS victory.
Presentation (18-11) got 11 points from Nici Gilday and teammate Chelsea Punian added nine points and six rebounds.
Division IV
Santa Cruz 49, Mercy (San Francisco) 35
Pauli Pappas had 13 points and Gianna Tinetti and Elle Sanders combined for 17 points and 21 rebounds as top-seed Santa Cruz (24-5) powered to victory over second-seed Mercy (21-8), which got a game-high 16 points by Mariah Masoli.
NORTH COAST SECTION
Boys
Division II
Redwood (Larkspur) 58, Pinole Valley (Pinole) 46
The Giants (29-2) made the most of their first NCS playoff apearance by winning the Division II title going away.
Pinole Valley (20-10) took a 4-0 lead but after back-to-back 3-pointers by Kai Drewry, Redwood never tailed getting a balanced scoring attack led by Jay Flaherty (14 points) and Max Jackson (12 points).
DeMarqus Wiggins, Ryan Healy and Drewry combined for 25 points offsetting a huge performance by Kairon Moore, who led Pinole Valley with 15 points and 18 rebounds.
Division III
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 60, Miramonte (Orinda) 50
The top-seeded Dragons (27-3) had a tougher time than most people thought, but they got 12 points and seven rebounds from Jason Barton and 10 points and 10 rebounds from Brandon Ashley to win going away at St. Mary's College.
Bishop O'Dowd sophomore Brandon Ashley.
File photo by Todd Shurtleff
Miramonte (17-13), which has come on strong late in the year, got 14 points by Davis Louis, 12 from Ross Anderson and 10 each by Spenser McDonald and Chris Hatfield.
Both teams showed loads of balance. Anders Haas, Terrence King, Richard Longrus and James Thomas combined for 33 points for the winners.
Girls
Division III
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 60 Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 49
Pepperdine-bound Robie Mayberry had 23 points and freshman K.C. Waters scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half leading the Dragons (26-3), No. 25 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings.
O'Dowd won its second straight title in a hard-fought affair. Dougherty Valley (26-3), a third-year program, got 13 points from sophomore Caroline Hughes and 12 each from Rayven Brooks and Ariana Flynn.
SAN FRANCISCO SECTION
At Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco
Boys
Mission (San Francisco) 67, Wallenberg (San Francisco) 60
Mission spoiled Wallenberg's first entrance into the finals with an exciting victory at Kezar Pavilion.
Angelo Gulley had 19 points for the winners, while teammate Javaughn Shannon added 16, Dante Calonsag 13 and Terrence Langston 10.
It was coach Arnold Zelaya's first title for Mission (21-10) which earned the automatic berth into the next week's CIF North Region tournament.
Wallenberg which trailed 29-28 at halftime was outscored 21-12 in the third quarter and could never make a fourth-quarter threat.
The Bulldogs (21-7) got 18 points from Aaron Brown and 16 from Garrett Moon. Wallenberg also advances to the North Region Division IV tournament.
Girls
Lowell (San Francisco) 73, Lincoln (San Francisco) 63
Kristina Lum had 19 points, Rachel Baskin 17 and Cicely Baker 14 as Lowell (28-3) outlasted Lincoln (26-7) for the title.
Hallie Meneses had 24 points for the Mustangs, while teammate Erv Delman Court added 17.
Both teams will enter next week's North Region tournament.
